Immortality Through Array Formations - Chapter 1500

Song Jian’s face was grim, "...treated as a discarded pawn..."

"Discarded pawn?"

Mo Hua was somewhat surprised.

"Yes," Song Jian murmured, "They are plotting something, even my parents have gained some benefits from it, so they don’t care much about my life or death."

"Me coming back alive seemed to them just an unexpected joy, even..."

Song Jian’s gaze was ice cold, "...I seem more like a ’free gift.’

Mo Hua frowned.

The cruelty and indifference based on interest calculations within those families, he had heard of it long ago.

But such a thing happening to Song Jian, he truly hadn’t anticipated before.

"How many brothers do you have?" Mo Hua asked.

"Two older brothers," Song Jian said, "I am the youngest, but my talent is far from being as good as my two brothers’, my cultivation is not as diligent as theirs, and I am not as ruthless as them in doing things..."

Song Jian pointed towards the outside of the woods, "Moreover, I can’t rally the crowds easily."

"Now that the Song family is gaining influence, there are more hangers-on around me, can’t chase them away, but in truth, I know they look down on me in their hearts."

These things, he previously lived comfortably and never thought through.

But in the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, having walked once on the edge of the knife, seeing these problems clearly became naturally inevitable.

"In this world, no one is reliable..."

"The sect is unreliable, the family is unreliable, parents are unreliable, brothers are unreliable, let alone those hangers-on."

Song Jian’s expression was somewhat dazed.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then patted Song Jian’s shoulder, "So, you can only rely on yourself."

Song Jian’s expression was indifferent, "I know I have to rely on myself, but... I can’t even rely on myself..."

"It’s fine," Mo Hua said generously, "I’ll help you."

Song Jian looked at Mo Hua silently, feeling there was something off about the words.

You’re a disciple of Taixu Gate, having no familial connection or cause to help me, a disciple of Sever Gold Sect?

Mo Hua then said, "Didn’t I save you?"

Song Jian nodded, "Sort of..."

"Wouldn’t you say we have shared life-and-death camaraderie?"

"Well, sort of..." Song Jian hesitantly said.

"There you go then," Mo Hua said, "The Great Dao is a long journey, seeking up and down, surely it is an extremely long process. The most important is to have Taoist friends with aligned ambitions, mutual support, and benefit!"

"I’ve saved your life, yet you still don’t trust me?"

Song Jian hesitated a bit, "But... our stances are different after all."

"What stance?"

"Different sects..."

"What does that have to do with you?" Mo Hua said with a face full of confusion, "You’re not the Sect Leader of Sever Gold Sect, just a regular disciple, why worry about that?"

"But my Song family... after all, is the Song family of Sever Gold Sect, I am a Song family disciple..."

Before Song Jian could finish, Mo Hua sighed and said:

"What does that have to do with you then?"

"You are a Song family disciple, but at a critical moment, you’ll still be discarded by the Song family. You yourself already said that the family is unreliable, your parents, with three sons, cannot be impartial, they may not always keep you in their hearts; they balance things with interests."

"Since that’s the case, what are you worrysing about by yourself?"

Song Jian was somewhat bewildered by Mo Hua’s "persuasion."

"But, you destroyed my Lifebound Sword embryo..."

Mo Hua: "A mere Lifebound Sword embryo..."

Song Jian angrily said: "What do you mean ’a mere’ Lifebound Sword embryo? This Sword embryo, I’ve carried it since I started learning swordsmanship, nurturing it all the way till now, it cost me eighteen years, never leaving my side! Eighteen years!"

The more Song Jian thought, the angrier he got, and the more his heart ached.

Mo Hua sighed deeply once again, and asked in return: "What is the ultimate pursuit of us cultivators?"

Song Jian was taken aback by Mo Hua’s question, paused for a moment, and said, "To attain immortality?"

"Yes! Immortality!" Mo Hua asked again, "How long is immortality?"

Song Jian frowned, "Having attained immortality, naturally one would live as long as heaven and earth, why care about the years?"

"Exactly!" Mo Hua said again, "Therefore, your lifelong pursuit is immortality, to live as long as heaven and earth, for tens of millions of years. What’s the need to care about the mere eighteen years spent nurturing a sword embryo?"

Song Jian was a bit stunned.

He suddenly felt that what Mo Hua said seemed to make some sense...

Since his goal was to become immortal, to have longevity, to live as long as heaven and earth.

Then the eighteen years of nurturing the sword embryo was but a flick of the fingers, why bother to worry about it?

Mo Hua patted Song Jian on the shoulder, "So, keep your vision long-term, don’t worry about the gains and losses in front of you, otherwise your heart will be narrow, and it will be difficult to reach the peak of the Great Dao..."

Song Jian couldn’t help but nod.

But he was still a little worried, "You say mutual support, how exactly will we support each other? I will not betray the Song family, and I will not betray the Sever Gold Sect either."

"Not asking you to betray..." Mo Hua said, "just that we exchange some information, if there’s intelligence I want to know, you tell me, if you encounter trouble, I’ll help you solve it."

"On the surface, you are still a core disciple of the Sever Gold Sect, a direct lineage of the Song family, and at odds with my Taixu Gate, but secretly, we cooperate and progress together."

"This way, we both leave ourselves a way out, and in the future, there will be an extra path for survival when things happen."

"What do you think?"

Song Jian thought this through and couldn’t help but feel that Mo Hua’s proposal was good.

Asking him to betray the family or the sect was definitely not possible.

But secretly seeking a powerful ally for himself was undoubtedly the best.

The various matters of the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons resurfaced in Song Jian’s mind.

He silently sighed in his heart.

Among cultivators of the same realm, Mo Hua was truly too strong...

Not the kind of strength written on paper, but a kind of shrewd, incomprehensible strength.

Leaving people completely in the dark.

If he were Mo Hua’s enemy, he’d have no certainty in his heart.

But if he were an "ally," then he’d be much more at ease.

"Alright..."

Song Jian silently nodded, also feeling a huge sense of relief in his heart.

Mo Hua wanted to say something more but suddenly heard someone calling his name from outside the forest, so he said, "Remember, if you need anything in the future, come find me at Refining Demon Mountain."

"Hmm." Song Jian responded.

Afterwards, Mo Hua cast a few Fireball Techniques onto the clearing.

Song Jian was slightly dazed, and then immediately understood, also channeling his spiritual power to slash many swords at the nearby trees, creating a scene of a fierce battle.

Then the two walked out of the forest one after the other, cautiously guarding against each other.

Outside the forest, Cheng Mo and Situ Jian were calling Mo Hua’s name while confronting disciples of the Sever Gold Sect.

Seeing Mo Hua coming out safe and sound, Cheng Mo and the others were relieved.

Mo Hua wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead, pointing at Song Jian and sneering coldly:

"Pretty boy, next time you’ll be sorry!"

Song Jian was taken aback, then also sneered, "This time you were lucky, next time we meet, I’ll have you torn to pieces!"

Afterward, he scoffed coldly, arrogantly turned his head and walked away.

Cheng Mo couldn’t stand his behavior and immediately said angrily, "You brat, speaking such arrogance, let’s see if I don’t chop you up?"

"Alright, alright," Mo Hua stopped him, "it’s getting late, we should head back."

"Junior Brother, are you alright?" Situ Jian asked.

"I’m fine, in Refining Demon Mountain, how could anything happen to me?" Mo Hua said.

Situ Jian thought about it, then nodded and said, "That’s true."

After that, both sides left.

The forest returned to silence once more.

Except for Mo Hua and Song Jian, no one knew about the agreement they secretly reached.

And because this happened during the sect’s "lesson" period, Elder Xun Ziyou was not watching Mo Hua, so he knew nothing about it.

On the way back, Mo Hua silently pondered in his heart:

"Tai’a Sect has an insider, Rushing Void Sect has an insider, now in the Sever Gold Sect, it’s as if there’s also an ’insider’."

And it was planted by himself.

The better Song Jian does, the more convenient things will be for him in the future.

"If one day, he could become an elder, that would be ideal..."

At this thought, Mo Hua suddenly paused, unable to help but think:

"This kid Song Jian, could he even become the Sect Leader of the Sever Gold Sect in the future..."